In our previous videos on the ancient economy and trade of the Roman world and beyond, we
discussed the importance of Egypt and its Red Sea trade, and the various plentiful goods
which flowed into the empire from foreign lands unknown to the regular Roman citizen.
It is commonly thought that Roman influence ended in Egypt, but there were economic and
political connections between Romans and Africans far, far to the south. Join us as we follow
the ancient Roman sailors and pioneers down the coast of East Africa and explore the goods
and peoples of this region.
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Ever since the 15th century BC reign of Pharaoh Queen Hatshepsut during the New Kingdom, Ancient
Egyptians had used the Red Sea to bypass their southern neighbors in Nubia and deal directly
with those even further south in trade and commerce. Over a millennium later, this was
also the route that the Ptolemaic kings of Egypt used to stage elephant hunting expeditions
down the east coast of Africa. Subsequently, the Romans inherited these ancient lanes of
commerce. With the transport of goods by sea being almost
30 times cheaper than land haulage, it was clear that the Red Sea routes would be the
most beneficial artery through which the myriad Roman merchants could make contact with the
profitable and relatively untapped markets of Sub-Saharan Africa. Moreover, cargo vessels
taking part in this trade did not need to be especially large in order to make a profit,
as a significant portion of the local produce was light and relatively easy to transport,
an example being Somalian Myrrh. The weather made it possible to set sail down
the African East coast at any time from January to September, but most captains chose the
latter end - two months after their counterparts had set sail for India using the monsoon winds.
As we follow a Roman merchant vessel on their southerly course, the first truly familiar
settlement which they would encounter was the trading station known as Ptolemais Theron
- ‘Ptolemais of the Hunts’- founded by Ptolemy II Philadelphus as one of his many
hunting stations. It is said that a Greek general named Eumedes first established this
outpost by cordoning off a rare stretch of fertile land. At first he was attacked by
the natives, however, he answered with generosity and kindness, and they eventually began to
engage in friendly relations. This is where we encounter our first large
sub-Saharan state - the Kingdom of Axum, located roughly in modern day Ethiopia. At the dawn
of the first century AD, it was Axum that held sovereignty over Theron. While this kingdom
was a primarily inland one at this time, it also had a primary maritime trading post at
a town called Adulis - 340 miles, or 5 days sail, south of Theron. There were legends
that it was founded by slaves fled from Egypt, but in reality it was probably another formerly
Ptolemaic hunting station which had blossomed into a vibrant trading centre, similar to
Theron. In the Augustan era, native Africans would
bring large amounts of ivory, rhinoceros horn, hippopotamus hides, tortoise shells, slaves
and other marketable goods to the site for sale. The Romans first set up their main enclave
on a small landmass near the bay known as Didoros Island, named after the Greek captains
who had discovered them. However, it quickly proved vulnerable to being overrun during
plundering raids by native tribes. The fact that these raids did not immediately discourage
commerce, gives further credence to the idea that the potential profits were worth the
risk. Nevertheless, the Roman response was to move their operations 20 miles offshore
to an island named Oreine. This outpost could only be reached by boat, and was therefore
far better shielded from raids. Oreine and Adulis housed year-round Roman inhabitants
and temporary merchants. During the first century AD, ancient texts
and records tells us that one of the main products shipped from Adulis was turtle-shell,
brought to the trading port by the so-called ‘Ichthyophagoi’ natives - or ‘fish-eaters’
- from the nearby coastline. Turtle and tortoise shells were lucrative prime exports from Axum
due to the increasing Roman desire to possess expensive craft items made from this exotic
material. In the Republican period, senior magistrates
of the state would conduct state business whilst seated on lavishly decorated chairs
known as curule seats. This trend had widened in scope by the Imperial dawn of the first
century AD, and the practice of fitting one’s home with lavish ornaments, as well as ivory
and turtleshell furnishings, had spread among the wealthy.
Poet Martial for example, wrote about a certain wealthy acquaintance named Amoenus, who had
purchased a property for the price of 100,000 Sesterces. He then decorated it so richly
that, upon selling the property, he demanded 200,000 as the sale price, showing us the
value that expensive adornments could have. Examples of such decoration might have included:
‘doorposts inlaid with beautiful tortoiseshell’ and ornamental furniture ‘embellished with
bright turtleshell veneers’. According to the sources, the price of the turtleshells
was 6 Denarii per pound. Axum also had a tightly state-controlled ivory
trade, which was a main source of revenue for the kingdom. It sent the valuable product
to Adulis via an Ethiopian city known as Koloe, described as the ‘first trading station
for ivory’ - three days’ travel inland from the coastal trading centre. 5 days further
inland from this was the capital of the Kingdom of Axum - the City of Axum itself. Labelled
as a ‘metropolis’ by our primary sources, it stood on the fertile highlands of northern
Ethiopia, in a region commonly grazed by herds of forest elephants and white rhino.
It was at this urban centre the Ethiopian king Zoskales controlled the valuable ivory
traffic, which probably entered the treasury initially as taxes from subject communities,
tribute from vassals or as income from royal hunts. Throughout the kingdom, royal agents
controlled the bulk of ivory stocks, and most of the valuable exchange goods sent into Axum
were ultimately destined for the king. King Zoskales was on good terms with the various
Roman merchants and diplomats who visited the royal court, but was apparently a notoriously
hard bargainer when it came to making deals with them. Sources state that “Zoskales
is astute about his possessions and in his dealings with us he is always holding out.
But, in all other respects he is a fine person and he is well versed in Greek reading and
writing.” The goods which he was expertly bartering for included gold and silver tableware
from the Empire, fashioned in the Axumite manner. This was important to the locals,
due to the fact that communal feasting and drinking was a common social tradition, and
therefore expensive tableware was a status symbol. The Axumite ruler also accepted batches
of heavy Roman cloaks, as well as Indian iron and steel, produced using ‘eastern techniques
unknown to Roman metalworkers’. Ivory was also a much-demanded product far
to the north in the Roman Empire, as it could be used for fashionable decoration in a similar
manner to the aforementioned shells. As an example, we know that ‘ivory ceilings with
gilded beams’ were present in aristocratic estates, in addition to table-legs and ivory
dinner-couches combined with an adornment of tortoiseshell. Ivory was also used in religious
rituals, as flutes and musical pipes crafted from the material were used ceremonially during
animal sacrifices. Smaller practical items such as writing styluses,
combs, hairpins and even backscratchers were crafted and sold to wealthy buyers. Some Roman
legionaries also paid for their personal swords to be enhanced with ivory hilts, but these
were likely the more wealthy soldiers, such as centurions or tribunes. Costing even more
than the pricing for turtle and tortoise shells, the 9 Denarii per pound cost for ivory shows
us just why the Axumite monarch sought to control this industry so much.
The natural environment of the region of Axum and sub-saharan Africa also provided unique
goods which the Romans prized. A rather vaguely described ‘large beach’ around 90 miles
south of Adulis was the source of the famous volcanic glass known as Obsidian. This material,
which would have almost seemed magical to the ancients, was quarried from black volcanic
rocks deep beneath the surface of the sand, and was supposedly ‘a natural creation of
that place alone’. Pliny tells that the Roman people would use this strange material
to make cult statues for their gods, craft dark mirrors which reflected ‘shadows rather
than clear images’ and to test precious stones, which would not be damaged if scratched
by a flake of Obsidian, while glass copies would be left with a white mark. Though this
beach was nominally under the control of the Axumite monarchy, emphasis is placed on the
assertion that they did not fully exploit the area for this precious resource.
In exchange for the luxury ivory, turtle and tortoise-shell goods provided by the native
peoples, Roman traders offered common and inexpensive goods from the Empire which were,
however, in high demand in the Axumite kingdom. Large quantities of Egyptian fabric were traded,
including linens, scarves from Arsinoe and coloured cloaks made from printed cloth.
There was also a market for low-value Roman metals in the sub-saharan regions of Africa.
Aksumite traders would accept brass and copper pans, as well as drinking vessels, due to
the fact that they could be cut apart in order to make decorative armlets for local women.
In addition, their materials were also repurposed in order to serve as a form of coinage.
As local Aksumite iron supplies were also of low quantity and quality, Roman merchants
provided locals with stocks from the Empire, with which they could manufacture higher quality
woodcutting tools, weapons and hunting equipment. It is even noted that Roman iron was commonplace
in spears crafted for felling elephants. A final export commodity on the Roman export
list to Axum was Indian lac-dye, which the state would use in order to equip its soldiers
and bureaucrats with scarlet coloured uniforms. In addition, we mentioned before how there
was a permanent Roman mercantile presence in the Aksumite kingdom. In order to engage
in commerce with these migrants, traders from the empire were therefore often advised to
bring essential Mediterranean goods such as Italian wine and olive oil to trade as an
alternative to cash, as they could not be grown in Africa.
Now having learned all of this, we must now depart Axum and sail even further down the
eastern coast of Africa. At this point, Roman ships prepared to leave the Red Sea and make
contact with markets in Somalia. Beyond the flat and barren Somalian coastal plains there
were arid mountains and a large inland plateau, on which a variety of exotic aromatic trees
grew wild. The trading stations in this distant land were known by the Romans as the ‘Far-Side
ports’ and were more traditionally ‘uncivilised’ than those regions closer to the Empire.
There were no cities or indigenous kingdoms in this part of Africa, and the natives instead
lived in small, self governing tribal communities. Each of the coastal trade stations here were
not ruled by an overarching king, but were each ruled by its own chief, or tyrannida.
Each of these ‘far-side markets’ was known to have its own distinct character, some were
considered unruly and rowdy while others generally had a peaceful reputation. Whatever their
behavior, Roman traders generally referred to these Africans as Barbaroi - or Barbarians.
These longer distance trading expeditions now began to require larger and more specialised
ships which would travel specifically to the far-side markets to acquire their unique incense
products - whereas some other vessels merely sailed along the coast, taking advantage of
opportunities where they came. The first of the ‘far-side’ markets reached
by Roman ships was the small port town of Avalites, which stood on the narrow, choke-point-like
entrance to the Red Sea, and possessed one of the populations known to be ‘unruly’.
Rafts and small craft from other parts of the African east coast and Arabia would routinely
come to this settlement, along with the Romans. In return for low value goods such as colourful
glass baubles, Egyptian olives, Roman clothing, grain and tin, local traders provided small
amounts of ivory, turtle-shell, and an extremely high quality Myrrh which was valued at 16
Denarii per pound of weight - more than a labourer earned in two weeks.
Sailing further, the first Somali port on the Horn of Africa was Malao, a settlement
which offered plentiful Myrrh supplies, and an extremely valuable product known as cassia:
a type of cinnamon, which was sold for 50 Denarii per pound. In return for these highly
sought after products and other fragrant woods, Romans exchanged objects similar to those
at Avalites. It was at this point on the coastal voyage
that Arabic traders became a common sight, and Romans had to compete with them for business.
Two days sail further east was the port of Mundu, and it offered similar goods to Malao
in return for Roman clothing, food, glassware, iron and money. We know that glassware was
a popular exchange item here because shards of it have been found in archaeological expeditions.
Similar to the Axumite king, the native dealers at this port also had a thrifty and hard bargaining
reputation. Two or three days even further east was Mosyllon,
almost at the very point of East Africa’s horn. This settlement had close access to
different inland regions, which in turn, offered unique natural products. This included large
quantities of the aforementioned valuable cassia, and this location was so famed for
that particular high-demand, high-value product that larger Roman ships would go specifically
to Mosyllon to trade in it. Due to the very expensive nature of the cassia, Roman traders
offered native traders silverware and precious stones.
Further ports in the Somalia region offered similar products and traded them for similar
Roman exports. Rounding the Horn of Africa and then sailing south, specialised trading
ships would eventually reach a trading post known as Opone, which was especially known
for its good quality African slaves. After skipping by several other smaller trading
stations such as Sarapion, Nikon and the island of Menuthias, a Roman trader would reach ‘the
very last port of trade on the coast of East Africa.’ - Rhapta. At this point, the enterprising
sailor was around 3,000 miles away from the Imperial borders. If they looked further south,
they would see an uncharted, unknown territory and had no incentives to explore further.
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